Review of Batman: Year One (2011) by Justin K — 12 Jul 2012

It's not the best Batman animated movie (*cough* Mask of the Phantasm) nor is it the worst (I guess Gotham Knight even though I liked that one a little), there are some cool little bits here and there but there are a LOT of glaring issues within the flick.

One of those issues would have to be the miscasting of Ben McKenzie as Batman. When he's not doing his narration, everything goes OK, but once the voice overs come in, it's like he stiltedly reading from the script.

Makes for a very awkward first half of the movie. I would have had Conroy come back in and play it but I can understand the need for someone younger to play a younger Bruce. Another issue I have is the animation style.

I'm not a big fan of American productions using an anime look for our animation. That's not a dig at anime, but if I wanted to watch a Batman anime, I'd throw on Gotham Knight again. Onto the big plus of the flick: Bryan Cranston as Lt.

Gordon. This was some VERY well done casting on DCU's part. I'd actually say that he should do the Gordon voice for every animated Batman flick after this. Although one slight gripe about the character is that it's pretty much just his movie with Batman playing a minor part in the story.

I've never read the graphic novel so I can't really say if this stays true to it, but I would have named it Batman/Gordon: Year One. I would say if you're a hardcore Batman fan, check it out.

...but don't go in expecting something on par with "Under the Red Hood" or "Mask of the Phantasm".